Blogging on Chrome OS: Editing code with syntax highlighting

Introduction

When blogging, it is occasionally necessary to edit code in PHP, HTML, CSS, or even Javascript.

I don’t want to go into detail about the individual languages in this blog, but rather give concrete examples that occur when blogging.

In this post, I want to show you which tools you can use on Chrome OS to edit code with syntax highlighting best and most efficiently.

Important Notes

Disclaimer of liability: As always on this blog, I warn you that all changes to your system mentioned in this post are at your own risk! It is theoretically possible that there are system or application errors that could lead to data loss and further problems!

On-board tools of Chrome OS

The most obvious option

Well, when you start blogging on Chrome OS, you’ll naturally wonder if there is already an editor in the system. On Windows 10, it is the Notepad, and on macOS, it is TextEdit. These have either no or only limited syntax highlighting, but of course, you can edit code with them.

A counterpart to the mentioned tools on Chrome OS is the app “Text.”

The Text App

Well, the Text App is a simple Chrome extension pre-installed on Chrome OS devices:

For example, if you open an HTML file with it, the HTML syntax is highlighted in color:

This app is already sufficient for most of the adjustments to the code for a blog. Of course, it also works offline.

Online code editors

Overview

Today there is almost nothing that does not exist in the cloud. Online code editors are also available.

However, since I have not yet gained any experience in this area, I want to draw your attention to an article on GEEKFLARE: link. They introduce some online code editors there. They all may offer syntax highlighting.

For these editors, you only need a browser and an internet connection. Then you’re ready to start. 😉

Google Docs

An alternative to the code editors mentioned in the overview is, of course, Google Docs!

Google Docs doesn’t include syntax highlighting from scratch. However, you can retrofit these with the Chrome add-on Code Blocks:

Sorry for the German language settings of Google Docs in the screenshot. 😉

The add-on is quite well-rated, and you can also find some positive comments there.

What is available for offline editors on Chrome OS

Overview

I found a good overview of editors for web developers on Lifewire: link. Most of the editors mentioned there can be used on Chrome OS without problems.

Here now some concrete examples.

Atom

Atom is currently my favorite editor. It’s powerful and I like the design. Furthermore, it is quite popular and widely used as Open source. Maybe you are a fan too? 🙂

The installation of the Atom on Chrome OS I described on my blog “chrome your life-defining experience” in this post: link.

If you’ve installed Atom as described there, you can now use it to work on code:

Notepad++ (SciTE)

Maybe you know an absolute fan of the successful editor Notepad++. It’s also Open source and available for the common platforms. On Chrome OS, the situation is a bit more complicated.

I also described the installation of Notepad++ on Chrome OS on my blog “chrome your life-defining experience” in this post: link.

As you can see there, it is currently not possible to use Notepad++ directly on a Chrome OS device. You can access the light version SciTE or use the editor online via rollApp.com:

Sublime

The well-known editor Sublime can also be used in the Linux of Chrome OS. It’s only available as a paid version. But you can evaluate it for free for a specific time.

Here you will find a Debian package: link that you can download into a folder below “Linux files” and install it from there by double-clicking it. If the “Linux files” are not available for you, have a look here on my other blog as well, to get to know how to activate the Linux of Chrome OS: Link.

Or you can use it online via rollApp.com without installation:

Development environments on Chrome OS

Again, I do not want to go into details here. My research for this post has shown that you can use some well-known representatives on Chrome OS.

These include Android Studio, Eclipse, NetBeans and Visual Studio Code.

How to install the respective development environments can be found in the articles behind the following links:

• Install Android Studio on Chrome OS [Source: developer.android.com]
• Install Java und Eclipse on Chrome OS [Source: chromebook.home.blog]
• Install NetBeans on Chrome OS [Source: chromebook.home.blog]
• Install Visual Studio Code on Chrome OS [Source: dev.to]

Here taking the example of the Android Studio:

You can find information about installing further development environments on Chrome OS via Google search if your favorite IDE is not included.

If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, such as Xcode on macOS or the full version of Visual Studio, you can simply use it in the cloud. How you can do that, I have described for macOS in this post and Windows 10 in this post on my blog, “chrome your life-defining experience.” With this, you have all possibilities open!

Conclusion

You see that on Chrome OS, you can easily make all necessary code adjustments for your blog!

There are several possibilities!

Have fun with it! 😉

Which editor do you use?

Back to the series “Everything you need to know about blogging on Chrome OS.”

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